McArthur expresses frustration over continued deferral of agriculture funding

Orkney’s MSP Liam McArthur has today expressed frustration over the Scottish Government’s lack of clarity over when ring-fenced funding taken from the agriculture budget will be returned.

Despite being required to deliver this funding to the sector, the Scottish Government has deferred payment for the second consecutive year and instead reallocated the cash, now totalling £61 million, to other areas of its budget.

Following news of this decision, Mr McArthur wrote to the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands, Mairi Gougeon, highlighting the concerns of the farming community in Orkney, and across the country, and adding his support to growing calls for the funding to be returned.

In her response, sent on 22 December, the Cabinet Secretary promised that the funding would be delivered to support Scottish agriculture, writing that “the nature of ring-fencing means that the funding cannot be spent in other areas”. However, she confirmed that it would not be included in spending for the year ahead, and failed to offer any timeframe for its return.

Commenting on this response, McArthur said:

“Raiding funding ear-marked for farmers and crofters to plug gaps elsewhere in the government’s budget is bad enough, but the fact this has happened for the second year running is alarming. Despite assurances that the monies will be returned, the Cabinet Secretary has failed to offer any clarity about when this will happen. The Scottish Government also seems to have a pretty odd definition of what is meant by ‘ring fenced’ funding.

“At a time when farmers continue to face increased production costs and are still in the dark about future funding arrangements for the sector, this sleight of hand by Ministers is doing nothing to build trust or confidence. The only way of turning this around is for Mairi Gougeon to confirm this £61m is being returned to the budget next year, and offering the farming community in Orkney and across Scotland some much-needed certainty”.